Better Than Fair: State exposition makes the best of poor weather

John Berry/The Post-Standard Umbrellas were popular items Monday during the last day of the New York State Fair.

The curtain rang down Monday on the 2011 edition of the New York State Fair, after 12 days of merriment and gluttony, more than 341,000 glasses of milk sold, 40,000 exhibits entered in competitions, 10,000 animals come and gone and one 800-pound butter sculpture on its way to becoming biodiesel.

By the numbers that really count — attendance and revenues — this fair turned out to be fairly successful. This, despite the first Sunday virtually washed out by Hurricane Irene’s remnants, and a cloudy, wet and chilly Labor Day.

Attendance for the 12 days of the fair numbered 917,464 — 82,381 fewer than last year’s fair.

Still, Director Dan O’Hara said he expected the fair, vendors and the James E. Strates Shows would make money, thanks to an increase in beer and midway ticket sales and a slightly higher percentage of paying customers. Last year, paid tickets made up 61 percent of all tickets, and O’Hara thought that number would tick up 2 or 3 percent. That’s still too many freebies, but at least the number is heading in the right direction — down.

O’Hara, in charge of the fair since 2007, has put a stop to some of the practices that got former fair director Peter Cappuccilli in trouble with the law. In July, Cappuccilli pleaded guilty to official misconduct, a misdemeanor, for improperly using the fair’s venues and caterer for his daughters’ weddings.

That was the least of it, according to the state inspector general, who catalogued years of no-bid contracts, nepotism and favoritism under Cappuccilli and other fair directors.

O’Hara has had his problems — a $700,000 no-bid contract with the concert promoter Live Nation springs to mind — but he’s also taken steps to curb the culture of entitlement at the fair. He doesn’t give away concert tickets, stopped hiring family members and has instituted ethics training for fair workers. He’s also spruced up the place.

Being fair director isn’t all wine and roses. As readers of our letters page know, O’Hara also suffers slings and arrows from fairgoers who find fault with the bathrooms, the entertainment, the parking, the prices ... the list goes on and on.